Khaufzad Kashur An unguided mass of people, stricken with unemployment, cultural delirium and dependence on supplies for survival, works as ballast for the stability of the military occupation. People of Kashmir, the atomized masses appear to be in a race among themselves for becoming good consumers of everything ranging from … Read more →
Kashmir in Three English Novels
Javaid Iqbal Bhat In this essay I analyse three novels and how they engage with the tumult and violence prevalent in Kashmir. The novels The Collaborator (2011) by Mirza Waheed and No Guns at my Son’s Funeral (2005) by Paro Anand have been published after 2000, and one of the … Read more →
Bovine Intervention: At the Gates of United Nations Office
Hilal Mir Moo! Moo! Oh ye white men in blue camouflage uniforms and caps, hearken to my bootless cries once. Unlike Kashmiris I am not a habitué of this place and never before have I come knocking at your door, seeking, what is that damned word, yes, the intervention. Kashmiris … Read more →
Trip to Lal Chowk: Memories from a childhood
Aga Syed Sameer It was a beautiful afternoon of a great summer day, but I was very restless after spending the cheerful morning sitting at home doing almost nothing except for studying. It was the starting day of the summer vacations. I wanted to break away from the shackles of … Read more →
The Rebel’s Silhouette: Agha Shahid Ali
Ahsanul Haq Chishti Hukum-e-shahi hai ki toadh doon qalam apni Phir rooh ko meri, kaun pukarta hai Faiz Ahmad Faiz was the poet representative of poor, disempowered and non-elite who carried their emotions throughout his poetic collections. So was Agha Shahid Ali who followed Faiz’s tradition and carried the pain … Read more →
All Eyes on the Afghan Elections
Syed Zafar Mehdi The countdown has begun. The battle lines are drawn. All the political pundits are gearing up, with a certain degree of thrill and edginess, for the biggest political spectacle in this part of the world: Presidential elections of Afghanistan in April 2014. From Washington to Kabul, and … Read more →
And Now I Cross to the Other Side…
Waqar Hussain Mir Waqar Hussain Mir is a Kashmiri living in Mumbai, India. He obtained his masters in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and is currently engaged as a fellow studying the trajectory of resistance in Kashmir. “Rizwan, it’s you, Rizwan, it’s you,” I cry … Read more →
The Veiled Sweets: Agha Shahid Ali’s Surprising Use of Humor
By Ravi Shankar The headline of a recent newspaper article by Sadiq Ali reads, “Humourous Kashmiris now resort to dark humor.” The article goes on to describe how exceedingly the inhabitants of the war-marred land in the northwest corner of India, where Agha Shahid Ali hails from, use black humor … Read more →
An Enduring Legacy: Tribute to Hussaina Bano
Hussaina Bano, a mother activist of the Association of the Parents of the Disappeared Persons (APDP) passed away on 4th October 2013. Hussaina’s son Syed Ayub left for work one morning in 2002 and never returned. Witnesses claimed he was picked up by Indian troops and whisked off to an … Read more →
Repudiating The Fathers: Resistance and Writing Back in Mirza Waheed’s The Collaborator
by Rakhshan Rizwan I write on that void: Kashmir, Kaschmir, Cashmere, Qashmir, Cashmir, Cashmire, Kashmere, Cachemire, Cushmeer, Cashmiere, Casmir, or Cauchemar in a sea of stories? Or: Kacmir, Kaschemir, Kasmere, Kachmire, Kasmir. Kerseymere? (Ali 3) Agha Shahid Ali, the critically acclaimed Kashmiri-American poet, speaks of his personal and literary conundrum … Read more →
Kashmir As a Palimpsest of Violence: Reading The Wonder House (2005) and The Homecoming (2008)
Mohammad Atif Mysterious mountains, intriguing rivers and picturesque valleys, caught between political controversy, insurgency, militancy and infiltration: Kashmir has been a topic of interest for many writers. Throughout history, Kashmir has been known for its scenic beauty and closeness towards nature while being there. But in the past half century, … Read more →
The Changing Aspirations of Kashmiri Youth
The Changing Aspirations of Kashmiri Youth By Anwesha Ray Chaudhuri The paper aims to study the changing aspirations of the Kashmiri youth. This is interpreted as a transition of gun totters to peaceful protesters. The paper will begin with study of the trajectory of youth picking up guns to replacement … Read more →
Taliban In Context of Kashmir
Syed Zafar Mehdi A palpable buzz in the town is that after the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, the hard-bitten Talibani guerillas may trickle over to the Indian-occupied-Kashmir. Local media has been sent into a tizzy as seasoned political pundits discuss its possible repercussions. … Read more →
Spectacle of Indian National Project
Ather Zia Why Afzal was killed in custody without even a patina of a fair trial? Why did India, which masquerades as a democracy in Kashmir, give in to a ‘murderous’ due process? I will not go into the nitty-gritty of the case which was cooked to kill Afzal. I … Read more →
The story behind Mehjoor’s postage stamp
Haroon Mirani In 2013 India released a stamp featuring most famous pro-freedom poet of Kashmir, Mahjoor, who strongly detested Kashmir’s accession to the country in 1947. Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad popularly known by his pen name Mahjoor was a revolutionary poet, who never favoured Kashmir becoming part of India. Indian Prime … Read more →
The Kashmir Bakers!
By Shah Tavseef Mairaj Winters are known for their harshness in Kashmir. And talk about Chillai Kalan, the toughest forty days of the year, you would have to negotiate umpteen times with yourself and your wushnear to venture out of your cozy home till the sun is already halfway through … Read more →
I remember, I witness!
By Syed Zafar Mehdi When I peep into the past, I am swamped by a torrent of bitter-sweet memories. I grew up in a small-town of Himalayan valley, nestled amidst the gushing blue streams, lush-green meadows, blooming orchards and romantic houseboats. I would wake up in the morning to the … Read more →
Remembering Agha Shahid Ali
Nawaz Gul Qanungo Woh dard ki shiddat badhaatay hain, main apni yaadaasht They’ve been raising afflictions upon me I polish my memory. The subject is Kashmir’s incessant struggle for justice. And these political verses, written by Muzaffar Karim, a young Kashmiri writer, were whispered not in the corner of a … Read more →
Of Kanger and Stories
By Majid Maqbool I can see my own breath on a particularly chilly winter morning. A thick, blinding fog is covering the street. The trees are withered, desolate, robbed of late autumn leaves that lie trampled on ground. I walk towards the road to board a bus. Inside the bus, … Read more →
Parveena Ahangar rejects CNN-IBN’s nomination for ‘Indian of the Year 2011’
While rejecting the CNN-IBN award Parveena Ahangar, founder chairperson of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) released the following statement: Srinagar, December 10, 2011: On this ‘International Human Rights Day’, December 10, 2011, the APDP (Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons), Srinagar, wishes to state that there is something … Read more →
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